Complete the Ethical Lens Inventory Essay

Over the past few years I have been in the ‘finding myself’ phase. I have always been a person to be analytical and constantly working things through in my head. As of recent, I have been meaning to find purpose and meaning for all things humane. I would guess in the pursuit of happiness as they say. I often find myself wanting to reach out and see what I can do in my own pursuit to help others along the way. After taking the Ethical Lens game I can most definitely identify myself with the Rights and Responsibility lens. At a young age, I was attracted to my neighborhood church. I remember waking up to dress and walk myself there, to be around others in the community coming together for united purposes. After reading this specific lens focuses its ideals as said ‘through Nature or given by God’ as the way for man kind to strive to abide. A secondary value of this lens is loyalty. Nowadays, I find myself having to think about how far one should take loyalty. I have been in many debates on fairness to others. Defending friendships or family to the point where I’ve lost a few friendships from debating what I thought was right in a situation and came off too strong. That point leads to my blind spot, which was identified in this exercise as the ‘Belief that motive justifies method’. Looking back I can agree that I have hurt people unintentionally with what I thought was fair but being too pushy or as said in the inventory, having the risk of being too bossy. Also, I find often have to send myself reminders of not to be so judgemental of others when they don’t live up to the expectations I believe they should have for their lives. Yes I know ‘I have some nerve’. I am glad this was also pointed out as a risk in the inventory as my vice. The Ethical Lens Inventory now solidifies areas in my life that I now know for sure deserves immediate attention if I want to move forward and have succesful relationshi ps. I have never taken an ethical inventory in such detail as  this. I am grateful for this experience to identify my strengths and weaknesses in this unique exercise.

Cinematography in Lawrence of Arabia Essay

Said to be one of the greatest films of all time, Lawrence of Arabia, a 222-minute movie directed by David Lean released in1962, achieved numerous accolades from popular award-giving bodies, among them the award for Best Cinematography. Through its cinematography, the desert was transformed into a character and major motivator of the film’s narrative, which was achieved through numerous ways. In the initial portions of the film, the desert was featured as calm, quiet, vast, mysterious and beautiful, which was why Lawrence expressed much excitement towards his assignment as an English army soldier. The extraordinary shots of the desert sunrise, and the extreme long shots of Lawrence (and his army) with the desert as its backdrop were breathtaking as they seemed like still photos from postcards. Pan shots from left to right denoted their journey, which were all skillfully captured on film. As the movie further unfolds, however, the desert assumes a different character as it shows its less appealing side – how it can be harsh, ruthless and merciless, without giving much preference to who or what it desires to take. This is shown during the times when Lawrence and the soldiers are having difficulties crossing the desert without water supply, and when one of Lawrence’s helpers is taken under a quicksand. Despite the bleakness of the circumstances, the sequences were still deftly shot and presented to the viewer. And then again, it changes further later on when it becomes the venue for bloodshed, as Lawrence stages wars and succeeds in conquering more territories. In some way, the desert seems like the love interest of the main character in the film because quite noticeably, there are no female characters in the film’s entirety. It was also expressed by Lawrence himself that he liked the desert because it was clean. Somehow, it seemed like Lawrence saw the desert as directly contrasting his character because although his actions may have been glorified by the Arabs, Lawrence knew that he was just a pawn in the power play of those who were in authority. The desert provided Lawrence a way to be a hero for others, which is the rationale for his decisions to go into battle.

Philosophy Of Education Based On Curriculum Perspectives Education Essay

Gregory & A ; Ripski ( 2008 ) explains the effects of making trust and edifice bonds with pupils, â€Å" A relational attack may gain pupil cooperation via pupils ‘ feelings of their instructors as trustworthy and legitimate authorization figures † . Teachers must be leaders inside and outside the schoolroom. The instructor ‘s function is to first make energy to swear and esteem in their schoolroom. By making a schoolroom scene that is safe and loving ; pupils ‘ motive and energy towards larning is straight wedged explains Eccles & A ; Roeser ( 2003 ) , â€Å" It has been suggested that due to the developmental significance of relationships during adolescence ( peculiarly relationships outside the household ) , a socially supportive school atmosphere will advance positive academic and societal results in immature people † as cited in Associating Academic Social Environments, Ego-Identity formation, Ego Virtues and Academic Success ( Good & A ; Adams 20 08 ) . The key of a successful instructor is understanding how they became the instructors they which straight impacts pupil success. Student success is straight relationship to a safe schoolroom scene, positive relationships with pupils, and the desire to larn. I believe that each kid possesses the ability to be successful no affair what their environment. Each pupil has a alone personality that with individualised attending can happen success in whatever they set their head to make. I believe that pupils should be able to have an instruction in an environment that is safe, and fulfilling to everyone involved. It is my belief that each kid possesses a flicker inside them and the function of the pedagogue is to tackle that flicker and make energy ( desire ) of the pupil to larn. Many first twelvemonth pedagogues receive advice such as â€Å" do non smile until December † and â€Å" Let pupils neglect in the beginning, so they know they need you † , Landsman et Al ( 2008 ) argues, â€Å" Unfortunately, excessively many instructors begin their calling without a tool kit full of schemes for pull offing pupil acquisition. Therefore, they end up training pupils with force and menaces † . With this attitude educating the pupils of today is a losing conflict. The attack pedagogues take into their schoolroom sing pupils can finally order the success of the pupils behaviorally and academically, â€Å" Educators can construct better schools by cognizing, swearing, authorising, linking, and honouring all their pupils † ( Hoffman & A ; Lavek 2008 ) . The cogent evidence comes from the pupils ‘ success. The intent of instruction is to enable pupils to go successful in their lives. As an pedagogue I must larn what is of import to my pupils and what will assist them win in mundane life. Taking what is of import to them combined with the Georgia Performance Standards will assist to make their single success. I believe effectual instructors should make this every twenty-four hours every bit good as relate all acquisition to the universe around the pupils doing it meaningful to them. Constructing Relationships Relationships are non built in an blink of an eye. Time builds bonds with pupils. Relationships do non come over dark between pupils and instructors, nevertheless the clip exhausted making these bonds nurture a successful schoolroom, â€Å" The clip required to develop relationships with pupils may be significant. However without this clip, the loath scholar may ne'er go engaged in larning † ( Landsman, Moore, & A ; Simmons 2008 ) . A successful school is a topographic point where instructors take the clip to larn about their pupils as stated by Hoffman & A ; Lavek ( 2008 ) , â€Å" To make schools that function as individualized communities of larning instead than anon. establishments where some pupils feel they belong and others feel ignored, we must cognize our students-how they think, what they need, and what they want † . Relationships in the schoolroom and off from academically puting have the possible to impact the pupils instantly every bit good as supply a long er last impact. Classroom Environment Teachers many times can make a nurturing environment or cold schoolroom by the manner they perceive certain pupils. The incrimination is frequently passed on to the pupil as a deficiency of motive or duty, but the instructors may be the incrimination. As cited in, Reluctant Teacher, Ladson-Billings ( 2006 ) indicates that instructors who define pupils in such footings create a schoolroom environment that is no longer a topographic point of acquisition and high outlooks, but instead a topographic point rooted in control and direction. Such conditions will non assist the loath scholar become successful ( Landsman et al.2008 ) . Students want to experience that they are of import. They want to experience as if they belong, and have a interest in what they are making in the schools, â€Å" loath scholars need to experience that they are heard, that their narratives, their voices, their inquiries, and their parts affair. The best instructors make pupil voices the centre of the category à ¢â‚¬  ( Landsman et al 2008 ) . My end is to do learning merriment and take every docile minute to the benefit of my pupils. In order to supply my pupils with a route map to success ; I am committed to utilizing new and advanced techniques every bit good as go oning to turn professionally. I will make a stimulating ambiance wrapped with positive support, so pupils can turn and maturate emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. Academic Achievement and Behavior Fostering relationships where the pupils trust and have a relationship with their instructor lead to a well run schoolroom academically and behaviorally. Students who feel their environment in secure and understand the outlooks are more likely to back up and work for their instructor describes Stuhlman, Hamre, & A ; Pianta ( 2002 ) , â€Å" since the schoolroom is the puting where pupils execute on a day-to-day footing, doing it a more supportive environment may hold more immediate and longer-lasting effects on results such as behaviour and attending † . Another factor is behavior jobs and hapless academic accomplishment is motive. Students who are non motivated are more likely to hold behavior issues or academic jobs. Dissecting the pupils ‘ involvements to research how to actuate their acquisition will engender a schoolroom where pupils are willing to work, â€Å" by developing and presenting such schemes, pedagogues facilitate the edifice of positive relationships be tween instructors and pupils that can supply the motive, enterprise, and battle which are indispensable for academic success † ( Stuhlman et al 2002 ) . Collaboration is the following key to pupil success. Without the support of the parents and/or defenders and all pedagogues involved so larning is jeopardized. Educators can non trust to accomplish success without back uping one another and the support of the parents. Students can make higher degrees of larning when all grownups involved in their acquisition aids take their educational growing beyond the walls of the school. Gregory, A. , & A ; Ripski, M. ( 2008 ) . Adolescent trust in instructors: Deductions for behaviour in high school schoolroom. School Psychology Review, 37 ( 3 ) 337-353. Good, & A ; Adams, . ( 2008 ) . Associating academic societal environments, ego-identity formation, self-importance virtuousnesss and academic success. Adolescence, 43 ( 170 ) , 221-236. Hansen, K. ( 2008 ) . Rewriting Bildung for Postmodernity: Books on Educational Philosophy, Classroom Practice, and Reflective Teaching. Curriculum Inquiry, 38 ( 1 ) , 93-115. doi:10.1111/j.1467-873X.2007.00399.x Hoffman, D. , & A ; Levak, B. ( 2003 ) . Personalizing schools. Educational Leadership 61 ( 1 ) 30-34. Landsman, J. , Moore, T. , & A ; Simmons, R. ( 2008 ) . Loath instructors, Educational Leadership, 65 ( 6 ) 62-66. Slater, L. ( 2004 ) . Relationship-driven instruction cultivates coaction and inclusion Kappa Delta Pi Record 40 ( 2 ) . Stickney, J. ( 2006 ) . Deconstructing Discourses about ‘New Paradigms of Teaching ‘ : A Foucaultian and Wittgensteinian position. Educational Philosophy & A ; Theory, 38 ( 3 ) , 327-371. doi:10.1111/j.1469-5812.2006.00198.x. Stuhlman, M. , Hamre, B. , & A ; Pianta, R. ( 2002 ) . Advancing the teen/teacher connexion. The Education Connection, 68 ( 3 ) , 15-17.

Motivational Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Motivational Theories - Essay Example The X and Y theory The theory X and theory Y formulated by Douglas Mc Gregor in the year 1960 positions previous negative perceptions about employees (Theory X) against a positive outlook towards employees and mindset of individuals (Theory Y) eg: Theory X- People inherently dislike work. Theory Y - People view work as being as natural as play and rest. Motivator- Hygiene factors theory : The hygiene factors theory by Frederick Herzberg in the year 1966 is another path breaking concept which clearly listed the factors of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Most accurately explained as Motivator factors that increase job satisfaction and Hygiene factors whose absence can create job dissatisfaction. The essence of the theory is that hygiene factors are the essentials of any employee or an individual at work they are - Security, Salary, Supervision, Company policy, Working conditions and Peer relationship. On the other hand, motivator factors are - work itself, Responsibility, recognition, achievement, advancement and growth. However, the first two theories give a general insight about an individual's needs and perceptions to understand a human's psychology about work was the theory of Frederick Herzberg that clearly lists the requisites of any given job for an individual. The three needs theory -... The highlight of the theory is direct relation it draws to the relevance to the word "Motivation' or factors that motivate. In this case factors that motivate individuals to perform and succeed. The needs theory includes all factors that come from within an individual. Eg: Competitiveness, influence that one exerts on another, need for achievement, acceptance and friendship. Goal Setting theory and Equity theory: The goal setting theory by the Stacey Adams in the year 1965 states that specific goals set by any organization for an individual increases performance in the of sales the goal is monthly target of sale on products to be achieved. The theory further goes on to explain that acceptance of a difficult goal only results in higher performance, even when compared to a goal that is easily achievable. The equity theory is nothing but the simple equation that any individual draws between the efforts and rewards an individual is constantly trying to match both sides by reducing efforts or increasing the same depending on the rewards and recognition expected. Eg: If a sales representative sees the reward or recognition is receives after he meets the required monthly target is unequal to his effort or sincerity he is bound to under perform the following month. Expectancy Theory: This theory by Victor Vroom in the year 1964 aims to substantiate the motivation theory more accurately for any sales unit. Victor Vroom explains the theory in three simple questions: 1. How hard will I have to work - Effort 2. What is the reward - Reward 3. How attractive is the reward - Attractiveness of reward. Thus the above mentioned theories in one way of or the other help in understanding the various factors of

Federal Reserve Presentation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Federal Reserve Presentation - Research Paper Example 1.3 As the regulator for the nation’s banking and payments systems, the Fed makes rules for safe business practices by banks and other financial companies. These rules include the minimum cash reserves that a bank must maintain in proportion to the deposits with it. The Federal Reserve lends money to banks for maintaining these reserves or accepts deposits from them when they have excess money. The Fed also ensures that financial securities sold in the market are safe for the customer. The Federal Reserve has a Board of Governors based in Washington, DC, with a Chairman and 6 other members appointed to staggered 14 year terms. The Fed operates through 12 Reserve Banks that cover all 50 states. Each Reserve Bank has a Board made up of bankers, business people and members of the public and conduct all the activities described in (1) above. Five of the 12 Reserve Bank presidents together with the 7 governors of the Federal Reserve make up the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) which has the responsibility for key decisions such as interest rates, monetary policy and the buying and selling of treasury securities. The activities of the FOMC are reviewed by US Congress Committee on Banking and Financial Services. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy affects prices, employment and economic growth by influencing the availability and cost of money and credit in the US economy. This cost influences the consumer’s willingness to spend money on goods and services. The three tools used by the FOMC for determining the cost of money are open market operations, the discount rate and the reserve requirements (FRBSF, 2013). Open market operations are used primarily to control money supply in the banking system. This is done by selling government securities to banks to reduce money supply or buying from them to increase liquidity. As a result of the disruptions caused by the 2008 global financial crisis, the Fed, invoking the

Why is prison overcrowding a growing concern in the US Research Paper

Why is prison overcrowding a growing concern in the US - Research Paper Example The challenge is costing tax payers more money, in US, there are many people behind bars than any other country in the world. According to current statistics by Wagner and Sakala (2014), it is estimated that between 1.4 million to 2 million people in US are in prison. The numbers of people released in jails inclusive of local jails are approximately 688,000. Collection of all information provides a clear perspective of number of prisoners in United States. According to the authors, the U.S. hold 2.4 million people in all states prisons including 1719 states prisons, 2259 juvenile correctional centers, 79 Indian jails, 102 federal confinements, military, immigration and civil confinements. Crowding of correctional facilities is quite significant to prisoners, tax payers and the officials working in confinement centers. An analysis of the topic is important, measures taken to correct problems arising from crowding or overcrowding of state prison can only be done by a study of the topic. This makes it quite significant to every citizen in US. They provide views on how to tackle such difficulties. The crowding effect in US correctional facilities started in early the 1980s due to an increase in criminal activities such as drug use. The war on drugs with tough policies increased the number of inmates in the U.S. Research shows that the U.S. has the highest number of inmates in the world; they are currently higher than prisoners held in Russian and South Africa. Prisons in the southern part of the United States have more inmates that any other region. The state of Alabama contains the highest number of prisoners than any other state. Despite the highest number of prisoners held in Alabama, they also have small number of staff. However, federal prisons in the U.S. saw a decline in the number of admission of prisoners in 2009. There was an increase of prisoners by 430%, which saw the number of prisoners rising from 294,000 to

Please write an important and relevant question to the designers and Essay

Please write an important and relevant question to the designers and to the Amazon corporation that reflects what you have learned about the role of architecture in this class - Essay Example This is evident in the use of color and general impracticality in designs. If this is the way postmodernism is all about, already nature has been tampered with. Most of the recent designs use bright features with the aim of attracting people and establishing power. However, this kind of design according to most postmodernists’ thinkers is a misuse and a great show of irresponsibility (Piotrowski 14). In their own view, these buildings have made the world lose its natural feeling. How will the Amazon’s building try to re-establish the lost contact with nature? In conclusion, nature does not offer any strict rules with which architects have to follow in their daily designing attempts. However, due to the urge to satisfy our needs, we always find it difficult to incorporate aesthetics in construction. This does not limit us to the way we use resources. It is all about the form in which our buildings take in relation to nature. Can Amazon do

Organisation Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organisation Behaviour - Essay Example According to Rahmati and Fard (2012) and Sease (2013), metaphors refer to a form of speaking where one thing would be expressed in the light of another so as to describe the character of the subject. They play an important role in understanding and interpreting organisations. To bring this into perspective in this paper, two metaphors borrowed from Images of Organisation, namely, organisation as an organism and political organisation will be used to describe Apple Inc., as the chosen case organisation. Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is a multinational corporation with its headquarters in Cupertino, California dealing with designing, developing and selling personal computers, computer software and consumer electronics. The American company known for its hardware products such as Mac computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers and iPod music players and software such as iTunes media browser and Safari web browser among others was founded by Steven Wozniak and Steven Jobs in 1976 and in corporated in the following year. In the first year of its incorporation, the firm released the first Apple computer, Apple I. Today, Fortune 500 Magazine (2012) documents Apple Inc. as the second largest information technology company globally, after Samsung Electronics, by revenue and has been ranked third largest as a mobile phone maker. In 2008 through 2012, it was documented by Fortune 500 Magazine as the most admired firm in America and globally. Going by market capitalisation, it ranks second among the largest publicly traded corporations globally with its value as of January 2013 estimated at USD 414 billion. Its 2012 annual revenue was USD 156 billion as retrieved from its website (http://www.apple.com/). The Late Steve Jobs has been widely accredited for the success that Apple Inc. enjoys today. Together with Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computers Inc. in 1976, having both dropped out of college (Mittan, 2010). Following the success of their computers in the market, Steve Jobs and the then president, Michael Scott got entangled in power struggle. Though Scot resigned in 1981, tension continued to escalate causing Jobs to quit the company he had co-founded in 1985. NeXT, the company consequently formed by Jobs was purchased by Apple in 1996 seeing the re-entry of Jobs who later in 1997 became the CEO, steering the firm to greater achievements. In 2011, Tim Cook took up Jobs’ roles after his resignation from being the Chief Executive so as to have ample time to concentrate on his deteriorating health, but died later in the same year. Cook has since steered forward the corporation in its operations. Analysis of Apple using Morgan’s Metaphors Apple as an organism Morgan (2006) uses this organism metaphor of organisations to describe their survival through varied environments. According to Black (2003), this metaphor makes humans to view organisations as living units or organisms which must adapt to the changing environment in order to survive. In this case, Apple Inc. considered as an organism would be pegged on its evolution through varied business environments over time. On its inception in 1976, the firm started as a company dealing purely in computers. With time and due to demand, the company

The introduction of Reddin Equipment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The introduction of Reddin Equipment - Essay Example Reddin Equipment utilized a customer-based model to win loyalty from its customers. In the contemporary business environment, the customers lay at the heart of the business and they have a great influence on organizational operability. Reddin equipment applies integrated communication strategies to market its products. To do this, the organization involves its customers in developing all its products. For instance, the 5M and 5E Limited Series Tractors was improved trough customer feedback (Reddin.com, 2014). The organization has opened efficient communication channels to ensure that the customers can contribute to the product design. In addition, the organization uses this approach to handle the employee issues. The organization has developed a good social relation within the organization to enhance teamwork and promote cooperation. As a result, the organization has continuously developed through both employee and customer loyalty. Loyalty from employees ensures that there is optima l production while customer loyalty has provided the organization an opportunity to increase its number of customers. However, the organization has survived amid challenges of a competitive market. In Canada, more equipment sellers have entered the market, leading to high competition. The entry on new equipment sellers has threatened the survival in this market. Competition has increased the organizations bargaining power, leading to competition in prices in this market. A reduction in the prices of products causes a great reduction in the profit margins for the organization (Profile Canada, 2014). To survive, the organization has embarked on pricing strategies to ensure that they are not face out of the business market. As such, the organization strives to satisfy the customer tastes and preferences while checking on its prices mechanism. Another challenge of the organization has been in developing an international strategy. The challenges of new market

Adrenaline Essay Example for Free

Adrenaline Essay Most of us, at some point, have been excited or thrilled as a form of entertainment. Whether it is a roller coaster at an amusement park or a scary movie, some results from this form of exciting entertainment may include tense muscles, increase in heart rate, increase in blood pressure, or excessive perspiration. Such physical effects are caused by Adrenaline. Adrenaline is a hormone that is released from a person’s adrenal medulla during emergency situations but does not have psychoactive effects. It is released into the person’s body from the adrenal glands located above the kidney. It is commonly referred to as a â€Å"fight-or-flight† hormone, because of its effects in increasing the supply of glucose and oxygen directed at a person’s brain and involuntary muscles. This allows the person to have better physical abilities to utilise during an emergency. Adrenaline is also known as epinephrine. Adrenaline is derived from the Latin roots ad, meaning towards and renes, meaning kidneys. Epinephrine originated from the Greek roots epi, meaning on, and nephros, meaning kidneys. This is in reference to the physical location of the adrenal glands in a person’s body, atop the kidneys. Norepinephrine or noradrenaline is another hormone released from the adrenal glands. It is very closely, chemically related to adrenaline, as well as having similar effects on the human body. However, a significant difference between the two hormones is that adrenaline has no psychoactive effects, while noradrenaline does, affecting the person’s mental processes. The effects of adrenaline released with into the bloodstream include the stimulation of involuntary muscles, rising blood pressure, conversion of glycogen, a form of stored body fuel, inside the liver into glucose, heart rate increase, the dilation of the bronchioles, the fine, thin-walled, tubular extensions of the bronchus, in the lungs, increased breathing rate, increased metabolic rate, and decreased digestive and kidney activity. The release of adrenaline into a person’s blood stream can be seen as the changing of a gear in a manual car. The release of adrenaline allows a person’s body to be able to have better physical performance in the event of an emergency, while the changing of a gear in a manual car allows the car to have better performance and be able to reach higher speeds than at the lower gear. The diagram included shows the cross-sectioned view of adrenal gland. It identifies both the outer layer, known as the cortex, and the inner area, known as the medulla. The adrenaline is secreted from the inner area. Below it, the location of the adrenal gland is shown in relation to the kidney inside a human body. As indicated, it is located above the kidney. In terms of my art practice, my adrenaline is often released while I am working. For example, while completely three-dimensional projects in the workshops, the power tools and other machines make me very nervous while using them. As a result, my adrenal glands release adrenaline, making my heart rate increase exponentially. In other cases, inspiration for art may also cause the release of adrenaline in my both. Similarly, when I use great emotion into my paintings. I am also excited to the point of adrenaline release.

The back to basics marketing approach of marks and spencer

The back to basics marketing approach of marks and spencer Title of the Project The scope of the project is to emphasize on the Marks and Spencers back to basic approach of marketing to capture the down-size in the market. Introduction Marketing is one of the core functions of any organization and an organizations most sincere efforts to attract the market can be inefficient if it lacks a basic marketing model to analyze the market segments, equip with the most appropriate product mix, and assess the competitors activities to ensure proper growth. The scope of the proposal is to analyze basic approach of marketing in UK by Marks and Spencer and also relate its importance in todays organizational success when its first marketing department was formed in 1998. The emphasis is on Marks and Spencer formal marketing planning, comprehensive situation analysis and adoption of pro-active approach to the future. Background of the Organization Marks and Spencer was formed in the year 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer today is one of the leading retailers in UK known for its high quality, fashionable and value clothing. It also has its presence in luxury food products, footwear, gifts and home furnishings. Marks and Spencer was a success story till 1998 after which a sudden fall in sales and growth of the organization led to sharp decline with shut-down of stores and numerous cost cutting measures. The revival plan was basically focused on the basics of marketing (focus on core business and brands, better product range, improve sourcing and supply chain etc) ignored in the continuous success story. Marks and Spencer today is again one the leading retailers in UK with an international presence, employing more than 75,000 people , having over 600 stores in UK alone and growing at a tremendous stage all over the world. Over the years, Marks and Spencer has not only evolved on international platform and gained recognition but also started its online business and introduced several campaigns in Corporate Ethics and Social Responsibility (Look behind the Label, Plan A and many other charity works). It has been in several controversies also but with the improved marketing plans is scaling new heights in the industry again. Purpose of the Research The purpose of the research is to analyze that marketing is the most essential of all the activities of the organizations as it is regarded as the direct means to reach the customers. The research will be conducted with respect to Marks and Spencer to: Understand the marketing basics closely in the organization. Analyze the focus of the overall marketing towards the customer solutions to capture market. Understand the positioning of the product in the market in terms of quality and value. Analyze the changing market requirements and promotion techniques adopted Understand the positioning of the competitors and monitor competitor behavior towards the changing market. Study the market segments and analyze the distribution channel. Identify the specific reasons for decline and framework adopted for growth that lifted Marks and Spencer back to the market. Rationale of the Research The lack of understanding of the marketing needs led to the downfall of Marks and Spencers. As per the basics Product, Price, Distribution and Promotion are the key components of any organizations marketing technique and Porters Five Forces model also has been identified to assess and analyze the position of the organization. Marks and Spencer was considered the largest retail market holder in UK perceived as having excellent quality and value of the products but its attempt to move into more fashion oriented clothing was not very successful with strong competitors like GAP, OASIS and NEXT. This study on the Back to Basic Approach on Marks and Spencer will help us understand how the utilization of the resources from marketing perspective helped it gain competitive advantage and brought itself back to the market. Research Questions The basic questions that will cater to the research are What are the basic marketing concepts and how organizations need to emphasize on the effective implementation of the plan. How marketing involves everything you do regain and retain growing base of customers. How to assess the basic marketing questions with context to competitive position. Research Objectives The research objectives are: Critically review the basics of marketing and relate its importance in todays organizational success. Conduct a qualitative and quantitative research to monitor the competitors market and positioning. Critical review of the decision making capabilities in the operational areas of marketing. Literature Review: A complete review will be undertaken to gather the published and unpublished data and provide a detailed understanding of the basic of marketing and its impact on the organizations success. The base of the review will be to analyze the overall market, product and is achieved through substantial research of the market and accurate data retrieved. Marks and Spencer went through a major downfall, the sudden sales dip cautioned the organization as well as the shareholders of the warning signals ahead. The customers dis-appointment, increasing cost, changing economic conditions and slipping market shares all stood as major concern for the management. The table below reviews the decline, Year ended Turnover (Â £m) Profit before tax (Â £m) Net profit (Â £m) Basic eps (p) 1-Apr-00 8,195.50 417.5 258.7 9 31-Mar-99 8,224.00 546.1 372.1 13 31-Mar-98 8,243.30 1,155.00 815.9 28.6 31-Mar-97 7,841.90 1,102.10 746.6 26.7 31-Mar-96 7,233.70 965.8 652.6 23.3 Source: www.abeuk.com The management started reviewing the basics of the business and it all outlined to the role of marketing in the growth of the business. As per the literature, the concepts of marketing mix, 4Ps (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) will be thoroughly reviewed in Marks and Spencers context and the emphasis will be to logically explain the evolvement of the marketing mix. As per Marks and Spencer analysis, the details will also cover the service marketing mix of additional 3Ps (People, Process and Physical Evidence). Also, the review will emphasize on the Porters Five Forces Model to analyze the basics of the industry and marketing development. It also covers the SWOT analysis for Marks and Spencer and gives an overall view of the fundamental issues faced and the plan adopted to overcome the shortfalls. A careful SWOT analysis is very important for an organization to tread towards success and be a leader in the market. The strengths are covered in the exiting organization chain and opportunities lie in addition of new line of products and catering to new market segments. The threats and weaknesses comprise of competitors strategies, innovations in market, new entrants, suppliers. Source: http://www.businessballs.com/ Research Methodology: The research methodology adopted here aims at examining and proving the existing basic marketing theories of the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) and Porters Five Forces Model. It helps in proving again the logical reasoning behind the development of the theories- 3Ps (People, Process and Physical Evidence) and their relevance in the marketing context. The method adopted is clearly to emphasize not only on the importance of marketing plan in business but also on the effective implementation for growth. Data Collection and Data Analysis: The first step will be to collect data through primary and secondary data collection. Primary and secondary data collection would bring thorough understanding of the subject matter and it will be done through online research, printed material (journals, case studies, and news releases) and other researchers /practioners in the subject area. The data collection process also involves from questionnaires, personal interviews, etc to analyze the research questions. The analysis of the data will be both qualitative and quantitative, emphasis being on the accuracy of the sources of data collection and also considering the phases of data collection. The analyzed data will reflect the shortfalls in the implementation of the marketing plan and will also highlight the changes required in Marks and Spencer business. Action Plan: The basic marketing approach that turned the fortune of Marks and Spencers that brought significant changes in the organizations strategy and structure to make the proposed goal a success. The strengths are covered in the exiting organization chain and opportunities lie in addition of new line of products and catering to new market segments. The basic focus was to regain the customer confidence, understand the growing markets, expand product line, and grow distribution lines, value realization, and appropriate cost-cutting measures for the existing products. Marks and Spencer realized that their franchise business operates at a much profitable level than company operated stores, be more specific in area usage of the existing stores and reduce the additional cost incurred in acquisition of raw material from existing suppliers.

Mobile Maintenance Overview

Mobile Maintenance Overview MOBILE MAINTENANCE OVERVIEW THE PROJECT Over the last decade, we have seen the pace of technology development increase hugely. From mobile phones to tablet devices to smart televisions, right up to connected vehicles and homes. This technology shift is inevitably moving into aviation travel sector. Both the Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 require connectivity, and digital tools, to maintain them. Engineering needs to have integrated systems and hardware within the business to keep pace. Achieving such integration will provide us with the latest tools in support of our drive for greater efficiency and improved productivity. Our goal is to use technology to help us become market competitive. The Mobile Maintenance project is one of Engineerings primary Tier 1 programmes and forms part of the Our Plan business objective to use digital technology to transform our business. It aligns with the work we are doing under the banner of the Capella change programme. With investment being made in mobile hardware, a new content management solution and significant enhancements to the SAP, the project will roll out over the next 18 months. Beginning in the ramp arena, online/mobile working will cascade on into hangar maintenance, and then component workshops. The new content management solution will come on stream one aircraft type at a time, with component maintenance manuals shortly thereafter. INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE In the current financial climate, the decision by BAs Capital Investment Committee to approve this capital investment should be seen as a fantastic endorsement of everything Engineering intends to achieve via the project. Once the cost of the original mobile working trial is added in, the total capex underpinning Mobile Maintenance comes to some  £8million. The graphic below provides an indication of how the funds have been invested. 33% 22% 45% INVESTMENT BREAKDOWN Hardware SAP Enhancements INVESTMENT EXPLAINED BENEFITS Of course, the investment decision was driven by the compelling benefits case Engineering were able to make. As well as the obvious productivity and efficiency opportunities, successful implementation opens up the possibility of achieving a wide variety of non-financial gains across Engineering. PEOPLE AND PROCESSES Drive up the quality of information underpinning resource and load planning activities. Reduce the frustration caused by having to leave the aircraft side mid-job. SAFETY AND QUALITY Improve access, and adherence, to maintenance manuals, procedures and processes. Reduce the risk of unrecorded work. OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE Reduce ADDs and delays through easier, quicker and more accurate access to technical information. Vastly improved situational awareness both in the satellite control and for the production teams. SAP Enhancements Just over 1/5 of the investment has gone into the largest single group of changes to SAP since it was introduced in 2004. Resulting in new transactions and improvements to exisiting ones, in addition to the new eTask app. Hardware 1/3 of the investment has been on hardware. From the devices to servers and WIFi infranstructure. This portion of the investment was vital in ensuring the implementation becomes a success. ICMS The largest portion of the investiment is in the new integrated content management system. A replacement for the TI Portal and Knowledge warehouse, ICMS will provide remote, direct, accurate technical documentation to all engineers. For additions or queries regarding the MMHandbook contact [emailprotected] Ensure colleagues carry out their role with the most up-to-date information at their fingertips. Increase the productivity and efficiency of the delivery and support teams in the organisation. Provide the opportunity for greater visibility of task work steps. Remove SAP data entry lag, and risk of data transcription errors, to improve compliance data timeliness and quality. Better quality data will provide greater richness of information to improve the quality, and delivery, of the daily production plan. DELIVERABLES DELIVERABLES OVERVIEW Mobile maintenance often attracts the immediate thought of iPads and the eTask app, mobile maintenance is a huge amount more than just an app on a device. The SAP enhancements upstream all interlink with one another, from enhancing the notifications we rely on for compliance, to creating a balanced plan and managing our operation. The information produced upstream of the app allows the engineer to work with accurate, well planned information on his device, while the app offers him/her immediate benefits with the functionality offered by eTask. DEFECT WORKBENCH The defect workbench is a new SAP transaction available for use by both production and the EOCC. It allows a user to search, review and fully define a D3 or D7. The transaction is data rich and allows accurate definition of notifications ensuring the user has all the information available to make informed decisions on what action should be taken. Notifications can be directed to relevant departments using the new milestone function while communication lines between planning, production and the engineer at the aircraft side are opened up with the remarks function. SLOT PLAN The slot plan is an engineering version of the airops software we use today to monitor the operation, it is a graphical display of our aircrafts flying schedule allowing a planner to select and analyse maintenance opportunities to plan revisions. The slot plan is the point of entry to the planning workbench and is the first step in the process to creating a new revision or editing an existing one. PLANNING WORKBENCH A data rich transaction allowing a planner to analyse the outstanding notifications of an aircraft. A compliance pane, defect pane and modification pane organise the notifications in a logical manner while quick review columns offer immediate information about a notification including; material status, life rule and number of re-assess alongside many others. The main function of the planning workbench is to create accurate plans for work in the production environment. LOAD AND CAPACITY Once the notification definition process we will have going forward with mobile maintenance improves and the data is more accurate the load and capacity tool will be a very important tool for engineering. The load and capacity tool will offer a graphical representation of the capacity (resource available) vs the Load (the planned work). This will allow a planner to balance revisions and ensure the plan is achievable. The tool depends on engineering working together to define notifications properly, most importantly defining man hours on ADDs. RESOURCE PLANNING DASHBOARD (RPD) The resource planning dashboard is a digital T card board and interlinks with both the load and capacity tool and the TACD. The RPD (resource planning dashboard) allows a shift manager to organise a shifts colleagues in to teams based on who is available. The transaction offers information of the colleagues skills, cover and availability and so the teams can be planned accurately and efficiently. There will also be a crew room view which will show everyone which teams they are allocated to. The RPD relies on data fed from the HR system and time manager, with this in mind, it is vital that any time manager data is entered in advance of the event, this includes overtime, leave, sickness and any other absence. Failure to do so will result in the colleagues absent or on overtime failing to show correctly in the RPD. This is important as the RPD feeds the allocation system in the TACD which allocates work to the engineers devices. TASK ALLOCATION AND CONTROL DASHBOARD (TACD) TACD is the new version of the electronic whiteboard we use today to manage our operation in the satellites. It allows the FSDE to view and analyse the progress of the work being carried out by the engineers on the aircraft, while having the ability to create tasks from VHF calls and allocating them directly to an engineers device instantly. The TACD interlinks directly with the eTask app and the functionality provided allows the progress of tasks and revisions to be monitored in real time offering a substantial operational awareness improvement. ETASK APP (IPAD BASED) The eTask app is the next generation Ramp app. Following on from the trial version, the eTask app has an abundance of functionalities available that allow an engineer to work more efficiently and effectively. Greater task detail, allocation flexibility, stores integration and reporting functions offer huge improvements to the initial ramp app. The major benefit being increased engagement time at the aircraft side, integration to the content management system and access to up to date technical documentation supports the information already on offer within each task pushed to the device. INTEGRATED CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (ICMS) The new content management system is engineerings single solution for technical documentation and procedures. ICMS replaces the TI Portal and knowledge warehouse bringing considerable aesthetic, control and accessibility improvements. Desktop and device access provides aircraft manuals in the same format, hyperlinked and integrated with the eTask app whilst offering smart search functionality. Offline content also allows manuals to be saved to a device for review with automated updates adding in any TRs directly to the manual ensuring adherence to the most recent version. TRAINING TRAINING SOLUTION With engineering investing in one of the biggest change projects since the introduction of SAP it is vital that the training solution provided gives all colleagues the most support in the movement towards mobile working. This section will explain the training solution offered as well as where supplementary information and support can be found. TRAINING DEVELOPMENT Mobile maintenance training was developed in house by a team of hard working experienced engineering colleagues. They are volunteers who devoted their time to the project to ensure that the content developed was in the best interests of their own colleagues and engineering as a whole. The training concepts were developed alongside the GLA and their own experts to ensure it adhered to training guidelines. In respect of the practical training the colleagues whom deliver the courses are also engineering production colleagues who volunteered to support the work areas in the road towards mobile working. ASCEND British Airways corporate learning tool is Ascend, it allows courses to be built and stored online for completion at a time that suits without being off lined from the work areas. Ascend also allows learning to be tracked and audited by quality. SAP ENHANCEMENTS ASCEND COURSES The mobile maintenance ascend courses were designed to give a how to demonstration of the new SAP enhancements. Software is a difficult product to train and the team toyed with different methods. One being the use of screenshots and annotations, however, when analysed, it was found that around 2000 screenshots would need to be produced which was both unmanageable and counterproductive as a training tool. The chosen method was to use videos of the transaction actually in a realistic scenario. Many software products use this method for training and a professional software was sourced to produce the content over a period of 2 months. The videos can be stopped, paused and scrolled through if further time is required on a certain point or notes need to be taken. ETASK ASCEND COURSE BALEARNING APP The eTask ascend course is a little different to that of the SAP Enhancements, the ascend course serves as a placeholder for the competency assessment but the content itself is based on a BA corporate app named BALearning on the iPad device itself. The BALearning app allows an identical mimic of the real eTask app to be created. The content can then be manipulated to direct a user to choose the correct process and function resulting in the user becoming familiar and aware of how the eTask app works. If a user makes an error it is not a problem as the learning app offers a safe environment to practice in. The eTask training app that is released is available at any time allowing a user to refresh on functionality when required. BALEARNING APP FIX Some users have reported the BALearning app is malfunctioning and the screen blanks on opening. This is due to a problem Mobile Enabled Operations encountered in March with corporate apps across the BA network having issues. The fix: Delete BALogin App and Device Doctor App and then reinstall, following that enter the BA App store and ensure all apps are up to date including the BALearning app. This should remedy the fault. ASCEND COMPETENCY ASSESSEMENTS The ascend competency assessments are a quality requirement. PRACTICAL TRAINING The training team were very keen to have a practical element of training included in the solution, one that allows candidates to practice using the new tools in a safe environment with instructors who are experts in the developments. The solutions were again developed by the SME team alongside the GLA. EOCC PRACTICAL TRAINING The EOCC have developed a comprehensive practical training and readiness programme. This includes a full 1 day training course using the new tools in a safe environment while learning new processes and procedures attached to those tools. They also assess individuals on a 1 on 1 basis prior to going live ensuring the candidates are capable and ready to use the tools, assessing competency in addition to setting up layouts and variants applicable to their role. MVS MAINTENANCE VISIT SIMULATION Production colleagues, once they have completed the mandatory ascend modules will be allocated to an MVS course. A Maintenance Visit Simulation course is a 1 day offline course where a candidate will experience and use all of the tools produced from mobile maintenance in a simulated aircraft visit. The simulation begins prior to the aircraft visit highlighting the process of data enrichment and timely entering of HR data, from there the simulation moves through the satellite to the aircraft arrival and through to the aircraft departure. At each point of the aircraft visit the instructors demonstrate functionality and highlight any key points while the candidates actually work the aircraft on the devices like they would in a real life scenario. The candidates are assessed by monitoring their engagement throughout the session as well as a written exam at the end of the session. POST TRAINING SUPPORT For additions or queries regarding the MMHandbook contact [emailprotected] As with any training programme there are often further questions and clarity required by a candidate. For that reason a post training support structure has been implemented. KEY USERS Key users in each area are the first port of call for any clarifications or questions regarding mobile maintenance and they will be on hand to every shift to aid in the process of implementation and beyond. Again key users are engineering colleagues and have candidates best interests in mind. YAMMER Yammer is BAs business social media option. There is a mobile maintenance group which is monitored daily by the project team. Any questions or queries will be answered in a timely and accurate manner so dont hesitate to ask for any clarity or report any issues found. Yammer is available via a desktop or via the app store on the iPad. KEY FUNCTIONS QRH This mobile maintenance handbook offers an overview of the project, deliverables, training as well as offering a comprehensive quick reference handbook (QRH) for functionality of the new deliverables. It is a working document so if there is anything that is missing please report it to the owner or mobile maintenance yammer page. ENGINEERING PROCEDURES BA ENGINEERING TECHNICAL PROCEDURES AND WORK INSTRUCTIONS Mobile Maintenance is now part of British Airways Engineering Technical Procedures/Work Instructions. Alongside this there will be local procedures which will be briefed and cascaded by your business area representatives. Follow the instructions below to access the engineering procedures and work instructions related to Mobile Maintenance

The Big Issue in the North Essay -- Social Issues, Homelessness, Crime

This essay will concentrate on the Big Issue in the North (BIIN) which is part of a social business with the solution and support systems to help eradicate social problems and create opportunities for people â€Å"who have had a raw deal in life†,(Swithinbank,2001) empowering them to change their lives. The BIIN is a limited company employing staff to write, design and distribute the magazine. Vendors buy the magazine for one pound and sell it for two pounds, making a 100 per-cent profit. Some of this money must be re-invested into buying more magazines; the rest is kept by the vendor. In this way, despite being socially excluded, the vendor has a regular wage. This encourages people to make efforts to develop routine and stability and gives them opportunity to change their lives for the better. This essay will look at how the Big Issue partakes in current legislation; the history of the Big Issue; study the internal structure of the organisation and demonstrate how the Big Is sue ensures effectiveness and manages constraints. Every Government which has come into power has tried to eradicate homelessness, and lower crime rates. The 2002 Homelessness Act defined provisions that local councils, homeless agencies and housing associations have to follow to develop and help eradicate homelessness. Shelter says â€Å"it is glad the government has come round to its view that street homelessness is only the most visible form of homelessness† (Walker, 2002). As a result of these acts the BIIN in Liverpool partake in monthly meetings with other agencies such as the Whitechapel, Basement and Mental Health teams. The Liverpool Homelessness Strategy 2008- 11, sets out how all stakeholders such as the BIIN will focus on prevention of homelessness ... ...he ways staff overcomes this difficulty is by using internet resources, pictures and power phrasing words. In extreme circumstances staff can consult a translator, however this is expensive. Another constraint is staff storages which mean out of town vendors are not always monitored as often as city centre vendors. This could be managed by having a staff member once a month committed to out of town visits. Finally this essay has shown how the BIIN gives homeless people the opportunity to earn an income it also gives them motivation and self-esteem and goes beyond just selling the magazine. This essay shows the BIIN works in partnership with many agencies by sharing information, by following government guidelines and offering people a â€Å"hand up instead of hand out†. The BIIN also demonstrates that all individuals should be included in society and be valued.

Agamemnon Essay -- essays research papers fc

Agamemnon Agamemnon is a confusing tale of the people that are waiting for the soldiers to get home from the Trojan war. Most of the play is the chorus singing about many of the things that happened during the war. The play also shows the disrespect the men had for women in that time period. In front of Agamemnon's palace, a watchman wishes his shift would end. He is tired and wants to sleep but he must stay awake. He awaits news from Queen Clytemnestra. The Chorus of Argive elders enters, singing of the war. They sing of the gods, asking for them to help them win the war, and of the great army. They anxiously await the news from the Queen. In the song, they tell how Agamemnon killed his child. He sacrificed his daughter to Apollo so that Apollo would make the winds blow for his armies ships. The chorus thinks that deed was horrible, but had to be done for the good of the country. The leader asks Clytemnestra if she's heard any news. He doesn't like being ruled by a woman and treats her somewhat rudely. He only listens to her because of his loyalty to his King. She tells the leader that the army has taken Troy. The leader is skeptical and asks her to repeat herself several times. The Queen gets angry and tells him she is not a "credulous girl." When the leader asks how Clytemnestra...

On Time Importance Essay

We are successful in life only when we make the best use of time. Time cannot be stopped, paused, or regained. Some point in life whether it be business related, or for leisure, someone or something will require you to be at a certain place at a given time. Punctuality could be the key to winning a contest, finalizing a business deal, or even keeping your job. We all as human beings have been late before, things happen, but constant lateness affects your dependability. If you are not dependable your opportunities for progression will start to decrease. The life of George Washington was characterized by a scrupulous regard for punctuality. When he asked a man to bring by some horses he was interested in buying at five in the morning, and the man arrived fifteen minutes late, he was told by the stable groom that the general had been waiting there at five, but had now moved on to other business, and that he wouldn’t be able to examine the horses again until the following week. When he told Congress that he’d meet with them at noon, he could almost always be found striding into the chamber just as the clock was striking twelve. Washington’s promptness extended to his mealtimes as well. He ate dinner each day at exactly 4 o’clock, and when he invited members of Congress to dine with him, and they arrived late, they were often surprised to find the president halfway done with his meal or even pushing back from the table. To his startled, tardy guest he would say, â€Å"We are punctual here. My cook never asks whether the company has arrived, but whether the hour has come. †( www. artofmanliness. com) George Washington was a perfect example on how important punctuality is, and what opportunities can be missed. For our first president, being on time was a way of showing respect to others, and he expected to be treated with the same level of respect in return. Although no longer live in an age of knickers and powdered wigs, but being punctual is just as important as it ever was. â€Å"Soldiers should be minutemen. Punctuality is one of the most valuable habits a soldier can possess. † Christopher Andrews said it the best, when it comes to punctuality in the army is your bread and butter. You could be the best soldier, but if you’re late all the time you can quickly be potrayed as something way less. Being punctual builds and reveals your discipline. The punctual man shows that he can organize his time, that he pays attention to details, and that he can put aside this to do that ; he can set aside a pleasure to take care of business. The non punctual man shows he needs to be supervised, seems unprepared, and unprofessional. These things are all the things that could stop a soldier from progressing. It is like a domino effect, one consequence leads to another, and leads you down a trail of detriment. Something so simple as being on time can be the key to being allowed to go to a promotion board, or even staying in the military. If the conduct was constant, action may be intiated to separate you from the service. If you are involuntarily separted, you could receive an Honorable discharge, a general discharge, or under other than honorable conditions discharge. An honorable discharge is a separation with honor based on the quality of service, which meets the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty. A general discharge is a separation under honorable conditions , based on a military record being satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. A discharge under other than honorable conditions is based upon a pattern of behavior of one or more acts or omissions that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of a soldier. An honorable discharge may be awarded under any provisions. A general discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 5, Chapter 9, Chapter 13, or Chapter 14. An under othe than honorable conditions discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 14 for misconduct. If you receive an honorable discharge, you will be qualififed for most benefits resulting from military service. An involuntary honorable discharge, however will disqualify you from reenlistment for some period of time and may disqualify you from receiving transitional benefits. Also the Montgomery GI Bill you have not met other program requirements. If you receive a General discharge, you will be disqualified from reenlisting in the service for some period of time and you will be ineligible for some military and VA administered benefits, including the Montgomery GI bill. You may also face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment, as employers have a low regard for the General and Under Other Than Honorable conditions discharges. Although there are agencies to which you may apply to have the character of your discharge changed, it is unlikely that any such applications will be successful. Time is the most influential factor in this world. It is abstract. Everything in this world is commanded and decided by time. Nobody can escape the hold of time. It is the time which gives us the opportunity to make use of it. Those who make best use of time and avail those opportunities grow and rise in life. Those who waste their time lag behind. They fail to make any mark in life. He is the wisest who makes the best use of time. He rises to the great heights who keep pace with the time. Time is very important, it should be managed as if each second , minute hour, day is money. After all time is money. If time isn’t important to you, remember its important to someone else. If you are late to something chances are you are wasting someone else’s time. Being late is a form of stealing. That’s a tough truth, but it’s a truth nonetheless. When you make others wait for you, you rob minutes from them that they’ll never get back. Time they could have turned into money, or simply used for the things important to them. In coming to meet you at the agreed upon hour, they may have made sacrifices – woken up early, cut short their workout, told their kid they couldn’t read a story together – and your lateness negates those sacrifices. If you wouldn’t think of taking ten dollars from another man’s wallet, you shouldn’t think of stealing ten minutes from him either. Being punctual shows you value time yourself, and thus wouldn’t think of depriving others of this precious, but limited resource. Even when you are not dealing with work related things being on time is still important to many people, family, and friends. Being late strains your relationships. When you’re late in meeting other people, it makes them feel under-valued, that whatever you couldn’t pull yourself away from was more important or that they didn’t mean enough to you to warrant allotting sufficient time to arrive on schedule. The guest who flies in to see you feels like a dope standing at the airport alone, your date feels awkward sitting at the restaurant by herself, and your child feels abandoned as she waits with her teacher for you to arrive, all the other children having already been picked up from school. This is not the first time you’ve heard that punctuality is important. It’s easy to understand how keeping our appointments and reporting on time is a sign of respect. This is especially the case for improving employee productivity. If your leader keeps their word about meetings, deadlines and other time-sensitive promises, it’s easy to feel motivated to get things done. Failure to be prompt has consequences. When you are late or blow someone off entirely, you are telling them that your time is more important than theirs. Of course we should all be on time. And naturally, when circumstances pop up we should call ahead to say we are running late. Let’s put aside human psychology and Army mumbo jumbo for a moment, however, and talk about machinery. Time is an essential element in any working system. The spark plugs in an engine have to fire at exactly the right speed. A bridge can hold the weight of a million cars, as long as are spaced far enough apart. A clock quickly becomes useless if every second is not precisely one second long. All of these parameters are designed for increasing employee productivity. Time is important! Being late is like taking the oil out of a well run machine. It gums up the works, cranks up the heat, and causes things to break. When you are late to a doctor’s appointment, you may cause a domino effect that disrupts other patients. And when the doctor is running behind, you may end up waiting for ages thanks to overlapping ripples in the schedule. This problem applies to any business. Improvement is only possible if we recognize that failure to manage time affects everything.

The Ashinabe Culture

The research is focused on one of the Indian tribes of Canada called the Ashinabe. Their culture and social customs are investigated, its importance determined and put into context within the contemporary culture. The Ashinabe of the Great Lakes tribes settled in Turtle Island in Canada before the arrival of the Europeans or the â€Å"light-skinned race â€Å"as the Ashinabe called them.They were a member of the group called the First Nations consisting of native â€Å"Indian† inhabitants of Canada. The Ashinabe had close family ties and kin communities.However, like other natives of modern times, the Ashinabe had to fight for their rights to their land and culture. As inherent to the natives who first inhabit the Continents of America, the Ashinabe are rich in social custom. The meaning and practices of these customs are handed down from generation to generation by the respected Elders through stories that are often identified as myths and legends. The Ashinabe had clear di vision of what does a woman and man do in society. The women were in-charge of household chores while the men go out to hunt for food.The Ashinabe males take pride in their hunting skills. Another particular example of Ashinabe social custom is the telling of stories, of which the prominent one is the foretelling of the future through the Seven prophecies of Fire that represents seven different eras. It is interesting to note that in these fourth through sixth prophecies, it tells of the coming of the â€Å"light-skinned people† and how they will influence the Ashinabe people and this is validated by history when the Europeans came and took over the land and introduce their own teachings and way of life.The Ashinabe people love to hold ceremonies which is often a reflection of their religious beliefs (in spirits of nature). In conducting their ceremonies the Ashinabe had the social custom of gathering together in circles. They have a ceremony called the sharing circle where a facilitator encourages the members of the circle to share their feelings or their views concerning a problem or solution.If it is a healing circle, facilitated by experienced healers, the members are asked of their desire to begin the healing process and this could be an emotional activity for the participants hence emotional supports are provided during and after the circle. For doctoring ailments, the medicine man consults the spirits for remedies. In both circles, a stick, or stone or feather is passed around to make the sharing easier and focused. In ceremonies, sacred fires are lit and tobacco offerings are offered to the Creator, Kitchi- Manitou.The most well known ceremony of the Ashinabe is the Pow Wow (feast of the pipes) with its activity of following a Pow Wow trail all summer. Unfortunately, because of commercialization and as an attraction to tourist, people forget that Pow Wow is indeed a serious ceremony for peace and giving gratitude and appreciation for the spirits of nature, with each song and dance offered as prayers to their Creator. The participants wore colorful regalia, jingle dress that is full of symbolic meaning but unfortunately recognized by most as just a costume.Feasts are then held after the Pow Wow ceremony where squash, corn and beans (the Three Sisters that sustained their ancestors) are always included to feed the people. A spirit plate, containing a sample of every dish, is made before any one partakes of the food and it is passed around for the guest. Feasts are also held for other occasions like weddings or when naming a child. The Ashinabe also practice the giving away of gifts in their ceremonies and feasts to honor someone and this gifts should be meaningful to the giver and to the one with whom the gift is given.The social custom of the Ashinabe people is very important as it reflect the way of life of the past and hence, the history of the early inhabitants of Canada. Although their ceremonies are considered now as o ne of the main tourist attractions and their ritual object as souvenirs, to the Ashinabe it held a deep symbolic meaning and tells so much of who they are as a person and people. Moreover, the social custom of the Ashinabe tells so much of how they view life and understanding these social customs is the key to understanding the Ashinabe mind and culture.The Ashinabe culture in some ways contradicts the contemporary culture which can be a source of conflict and tension, like for example in contemporary culture, tobacco is not used as an offering and women seeks fulfillment outside the home. However, one can observed that Ashinabe culture is similar to the contemporary culture like having a feast and ceremony for special occasions. Moreover, as the Ashinabe culture gets intermingled in the mainstream culture they help enrich and give color to the culture of the whites.For example, the Pow Wow had become a good attraction for business, the arts and objects of the Ashinabe people had be come favorite souvenirs and home decorations. However, the Ashinabe also adopted the culture of the whites, making them lose their own culture and hence their leadership and confidence in themselves. At present, Ashinabe people are trying to revive their culture but the problem however is with the Cultural Appropriation that takes place when the dominant whites claim as their own the culture (their arts and literature, for example) of the minorities like the Ashinabe.The whites gain profit by selling the arts of the Ashinabe. Moreover, the most painful is the taking of the Ashinabe historical lands (without their consent and often through a betrayal of trust and promises) which had played a major role in their cultural history. This has been one of the sources of contention and conflict between the government and the Ashinabe people at present.

Merit for motivation Essay

JOHN: John has always wanted to be a professional footballer and loves playing the game. This is the main reason why he keeps himself motivated and participating in sport. He has a high achievement motivation as he really wants to succeed in football. If it wasn’t for these reasons he would probably stop playing football or play for a team where there is lower pressure to win. One of the reasons why he may only participate in sport for a short time is that he internally attributes failure. He thinks of himself as being a bad defender and is not quick enough. This will mean that he has low confidence in himself so he may want to stop participating in football. As the coach is not telling him otherwise he really believes it is true. This is the next reason why he might not participate in sport for very long as he receives no verbal persuasion. His coach does not tell him that he values John and it makes him feel like he is not wanted in the team. As he has no self confidence this will make him feel like he is not good at football. Instead of giving praise the coach also shouts things like â€Å"that’s not good enough† which makes him feel even worse. The final reason that he may not participate long in sport is that his coach always blames the results on unstable factors instead of addressing the problems. He tells John and his team mates they only lost because of bad refereeing or bad pitches. This will give them a false sense of confidence as they will think hey can continue playing like they are until luck goes on their side. JULIA: Julia has a high achievement motivation as she loves her sport and loves winning races. She has been winning lots of races recently so is very confident. This will help her to carry on participating as she is pleased with the achievements that she is getting like winning races. Her coach is always giving her verbal persuasion and telling her she is good at running. He praises her before and after each session so that she will always be confident. This will help her to continue participating in running as her confidence is high. Julia has plenty of opportunities of success as not only does she enter lots of races she also reaches goals when she is training which success is. While she is gaining success she will want to continue running. The coach does this on purpose so she will no that she is capable of gaining good times as she will have done so in training. Julia has plenty of vicarious opportunities. This is where she gets to see other people and how they run. As she runs on her own she needs someone else to watch. Her coach is still an active runner and wins races some of which are televised. Julia will be able to watch her coach and see how he performs and trains and then try and follow his example. If he is putting in the training and winning big races then she will be able to see the benefits of her training. Her only downfall is that she sometimes exhibits internal failure. She gets nervous before a race so her coach tells her to relax before a race but she finds this very difficult. This could be something she needs to conquer to gain more success. JOHN: The first way in which John could be motivated so that he will continue participation is by getting verbal persuasion. John is a player who does not believe he is good enough so it is essential that someone tells him that he is. This person should be the coach who needs to let john no what he is good is. As john does not think that he is quick enough the coach could tell john the things that he is good at so he can use the attributes he has got. If john is playing badly then the coach needs to explain what he is doing wrong and not just shout at john for playing badly as this will make his confidence even lower. If johns coach is not telling him this then other team mates or a parent could help him to start playing better. The coach will also need to find out how to motivate John. To do this the coach will need to work out why John is laying for the team like weather it is to be a professional or because he really likes to win. After the coach has found this out he will be able to motivate john better. The coach could do this by arranging an interview with john and asking him about his problems at the club. After he has found out about Johns problems he could set goals at training for him to aim for. Another method that could be used to motivate john would be to give him some vicarious experience. This is experience from watching another player. From this he would be able to pick up lots of pointers and it could help to improve johns game which would in turn would improve his confidence and make him want keep participating. The coach could arrange for John to watch an older boy playing at right back and let him take notes on how he plays. Or the coach could get John to watch a professional full back on the television and gain take notes on the player. This method is very good for people of a younger age like John as it can help them to develop there game in later life. JULIA: Julia’s coach uses goal setting in training for some things. In order to keeps Julia staying motivating he could introduce lots of goals. Goal setting is good for Julia for two reasons. The first is that she will realize her potential so if she is getting her goals in training then she will know that she will be able to get the goals in the real race. This will help her confidence as she will believe in herself. The second reason is that it gives her success which will make her confidence high. Julia loves success so her gaining her goals in training will make her very confident and happy. When she is confident and happy she will want to keep participating in her sort. The second motivation strategy that can be used to keep Julia participating in her sport would be to offer her extrinsic rewards. This could be of her coach or off her parents. Extrinsic rewards are things such as money or items that can be offered to Julia if she wins a race. For example her parents could say if you break our personal best of one and a half hours we will buy you the running shoes that you wanted. This will make Julia want to train very hard so that she can get the new running shoes. It will also make her keep participating as she knows that if she stops participating she will not get the shoes that she wants. The coach can offer different types of rewards. For example he could say if you win the county race I will get you a trial for England running team. He can do this as he is head of the England Juniors. This will make Julia want to carry on participating as this reward would be a dream come true. The main reason that Julia keeps training hard for eight hours a day is because her coach gives her lots of verbal persuasion. This is the main reason for Julia participating as it makes her feel good about herself. This means that for Julia to continue to participate in running her coach needs to continue to praise Julia when she does something good.

Bag of Bones CHAPTER NINETEEN

The telephone was ringing. I climbed toward it from a drowning dream where I couldn't catch my breath, rising into early sunlight, wincing at the pain in the back of my head as I swung my feet out of bed. The phone would quit before I got to it, they almost always do in such situations, and then I'd lie back down and spend a fruitless ten minutes wondering who it had been before getting up for good. Ringgg . . . ringgg . . . ringgg . . . Was that ten? A dozen? I'd lost count. Someone was really dedicated. I hoped it wasn't trouble, but in my experience people don't try that hard when the news is good. I touched my fingers gingerly to the back of my head. It hurt plenty, but that deep, sick ache seemed to be gone. And there was no blood on my fingers when I looked at them. I padded down the hall and picked up the phone. ‘Hello?' ‘Well, you won't have to worry about testifyin at the kid's custody hearin anymore, at least.' ‘Bill?' ‘Ayuh.' ‘How did you know . . . ‘ I leaned around the corner and peered at the waggy, annoying cat-clock. Twenty minutes past seven and already sweltering. Hotter'n a bugger, as us TR Martians like to say. ‘How do you know he decided ‘ ‘I don't know nothing about his business one way or t'other.' Bill sounded touchy. ‘He never called to ask my advice, and I never called to give him any.' ‘What's happened? What's going on?' ‘You haven't had the TV on yet?' ‘I don't even have the coffee on yet.' No apology from Bill; he was a fellow who believed that people who didn't get up until after six A.M. deserved whatever they got. I was awake now, though. And had a pretty good idea of what was coming. ‘Devore killed himself last night, Mike. Got into a tub of warm water and pulled a plastic bag over his head. Mustn't have taken long, with his lungs the way they were.' No, I thought, probably not long. In spite of the humid summer heat that already lay on the house, I shivered. ‘Who found him? The woman?' ‘Ayuh, sure.' ‘What time?' †'Shortly before midnight,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ they said on the Channel 6 news.' Right around the time I had awakened on the couch and taken myself stiffly off to bed, in other words. ‘Is she implicated?' ‘Did she play Kevorkian, you mean? The news report I saw didn't say nothin about that. The gossip-mill down to the Lakeview General will be turnin brisk by now, but I ain't been down yet for my share of the grain. If she helped him, I don't think she'll ever see trouble for it, do you? He was eighty-five and not well.' ‘Do you know if he'll be buried on the TR?' ‘California. She said there'd be services in Palm Springs on Tuesday.' A sense of surpassing oddness swept over me as I realized the source of Mattie's problems might be lying in a chapel filled with flowers at the same time The Friends of Kyra Devore were digesting their lunches and getting ready to start throwing the Frisbee around. It's going to be a celebration, I thought wonderingly. I don't know how they're going to handle it in The Little Chapel of the Microchips in Palm Springs, but on Wasp Hill Road they're going to be dancing and throwing their arms in the sky and hollering Yes, lawd. I'd never been glad to hear of anyone's death before in my life, but I was glad to hear of Devore's. I was sorry to feel that way, but I did. The old bastard had dumped me in the lake . . . but before the night was over, he was the one who had drowned. Inside a plastic bag he had drowned, sitting in a tub of tepid water. ‘Any idea how the TV guys got onto it so fast?' It wasn't superfast, not with seven hours between the discovery of the body and the seven o'clock news, but TV news people have a tendency to be lazy. ‘Whitmore called em. Had a press conference right there in Warrington's parlor at two o'clock this morning. Took questions settin on that big maroon plush sofa, the one Jo always used to say should be in a saloon oil paintin with a naked woman lyin on it. Remember?' ‘Yeah.' ‘I saw a coupla County deputies walkin around in the background, plus a fella I reckonized from Jaquard's Funeral Home in Motton.' ‘That's bizarre,' I said. ‘Ayuh, body still upstairs, most likely, while Whitmore was runnin her gums . . . but she claimed she was just followin the boss's orders. Said he left a tape sayin he'd done it on Friday night so as not to affect the cump'ny stock price and wanted Rogette to call in the press right off and assure folks that the cump'ny was solid, that between his son and the Board of Directors, everythin was going to be just acey-deucey. Then she told about the services in Palm Springs.' ‘He commits suicide, then holds a two A.M. press conference by proxy to soothe the stockholders.' ‘Ayuh. And it sounds just like him.' A silence fell between us on the line. I tried to think and couldn't. All I knew was that I wanted to go upstairs and work, aching head or no aching head. I wanted to rejoin Andy Drake, John Shackleford, and Shackleford's childhood friend, the awful Ray Garraty. There was madness in my story, but it was a madness I understood. ‘Bill,' I said at last, ‘are we still friends?' ‘Christ, yes,' he said promptly. ‘But if there's people around who seem a little stand-offy to you, you'll know why, won't you?' Sure I'd know. Many would blame the old man's death on me. It was crazy, given his physical condition, and it would by no means be a majority opinion, but the idea would gain a certain amount of credence, at least in the short run I knew that as well as I knew the truth about John Shackleford's childhood friend. Kiddies, once upon a time there was a goose that flew back to the little unincorporated township where it had lived as a downy gosling. It began laying lovely golden eggs, and the townsfolk all gathered around to marvel and receive their share. Now, however, that goose was cooked and someone had to take the heat. I'd get some, but Mattie's kitchen might get a few degrees toastier than mine; she'd had the temerity to fight for her child instead of silently handing Ki over. ‘Keep your head down the next few weeks,' Bill said. ‘That'd be my idea. In fact, if you had business that took you right out of the TR until all this settles down, that might be for the best.' ‘I appreciate the sense of what you're saying, but I can't. I'm writing a book. If I pick up my shit and move, it's apt to die on me. It's happened before, and I don't want it to happen this time.' ‘Pretty good yarn, is it?' ‘Not bad, but that's not the important thing. It's . . . well, let's just say this one's important to me for other reasons.' ‘Wouldn't it travel as far as Derry?' ‘Are you trying to get rid of me, William?' ‘I'm tryin to keep an eye out, that's all caretakin's my job, y'know. And don't say you weren't warned: the hive's gonna buzz. There's two stories going around about you, Mike. One is that you're shacking with Mattie Devore. The other is that you came back to write a hatchet-job on the TR. Pull out all the old skeletons you can find.' ‘Finish what Jo started, in other words. Who's been spreading that story, Bill?' Silence from Bill. We were back on earthquake ground again, and this time that ground felt shakier than ever. ‘The book I'm working on is a novel,' I said. ‘Set in Florida.' ‘Oh, ayuh?' You wouldn't think three little syllables could have so much relief in them. ‘Think you could kind of pass that around?' ‘I think I could,' he said. ‘If you tell Brenda Meserve, it'd get around even faster and go even farther.' ‘Okay, I will. As far as Mattie goes ‘ ‘Mike, you don't have to' ‘I'm not shacking with her. That was never the deal. The deal was like walking down the street, turning the corner, and seeing a big guy beating up a little guy.' I paused. ‘She and her lawyer are planning a barbecue at her place Tuesday noon. I'm planning to join them. Are people from town going to think we're dancing on Devore's grave?' ‘Some will. Royce Merrill will. Dickie Brooks will. Old ladies in pants, Yvette calls em.' ‘Well fuck them,' I said. ‘Every last one.' ‘I understand how you feel, but tell her not to shove it in folks' faces,' he almost pleaded. ‘Do that much, Mike. It wouldn't kill her to drag her grill around back of her trailer, would it? At least with it there, folks lookin out from the store or the garage wouldn't see nothing but the smoke.' ‘I'll pass on the message. And if I make the party, I'll put the barbecue around back myself.' ‘You'd do well to stay away from that girl and her child,' Bill said. ‘You can tell me it's none of my business, but I'm talkin to you like a Dutch uncle, tellin you for your own good.' I had a flash of my dream then. The slick, exquisite tightness as I slipped inside her. The little breasts with their hard nipples. Her voice in the darkness, telling me to do what I wanted. My body responded almost instantly. ‘I know you are,' I said. ‘All right.' He sounded relieved that I wasn't going to scold him take him to school, he would have said. ‘I'll let you go n have your breakfast.' ‘I appreciate you calling.' ‘Almost didn't. Yvette talked me into it. She said, â€Å"You always liked Mike and Jo Noonan best of all the ones you did for. Don't you get in bad with him now that he's back home.† ‘Tell her I appreciate it,' I said. I hung up the phone and looked at it thoughtfully. We seemed to be on good terms again . . . but I didn't think we were exactly friends. Certainly not the way we had been. That had changed when I realized Bill was lying to me about some things and holding back about others; it had also changed when I realized what he had almost called Sara and the Red-Tops. You can't condemn a manor what may only be a figment of your own imagination. True, and I'd try not to do it . . . but I knew what I knew. I went into the living room, snapped on the TV, then snapped it off again. My satellite dish got fifty or sixty different channels, and not a one of them local. There was a portable TV in the kitchen, however, and if I dipped its rabbit-ears toward the lake I'd be able to get WMTW, the ABC affiliate in western Maine. I snatched up Rogette's note, went into the kitchen, and turned on the little Sony tucked under the cabinets with the coffee-maker. Good Morning America was on, but they would be breaking for the local news soon. In the meantime I scanned the note, this time concentrating on the mode of expression rather than the message, which had taken all of my attention the night before. Hopes to return to California by private jet very soon, she had written. Has business which can be put off no longer, she had written. If you promise to let him rest in peace, she had written. It was a goddam suicide note. ‘You knew,' I said, rubbing my thumb over the raised letters of her name. ‘You knew when you wrote this, and probably when you were chucking rocks at me. But why?' Custody has its responsibilities, she had written. Don't forget he said so. But the custody business was over, right? Not even a judge that was bought and paid for could award custody to a dead man. GMA finally gave way to the local report, where Max Devore's suicide was the leader. The TV picture was snowy, but I could see the maroon sofa Bill had mentioned, and Rogette Whitmore sitting on it with her hands folded composedly in her lap. I thought one of the deputies in the background was George Footman, although the snow was too heavy for me to be completely sure. Mr. Devore had spoken frequently over the last eight months of ending his life, Whitmore said. He had been very unwell. He had asked her to come out with him the previous evening, and she realized now that he had wanted to look at one final sunset. It had been a glorious one, too, she added. I could have corroborated that; I remembered the sunset very well, having almost drowned by its light. Rogette was reading Devore's statement when my phone rang again. It was Mattie, and she was crying in hard gusts. ‘The news,' she said, ‘Mike, did you see . . . do you know . . . ‘ At first that was all she could manage that was coherent. I told her I did know, Bill Dean had called me and then I'd caught some of it on the local news. She tried to reply and couldn't speak. Guilt, relief, horror, even hilarity I heard all those things in her crying. I asked where Ki was. I could sympathize with how Mattie felt until turning on the news this morning she'd believed old Max Devore was her bitterest enemy but I didn't like the idea of a three-year-old girl watching her mom fall apart. ‘Out back,' she managed. ‘She's had her breakfast. Now she's having a d-doll p-p-p . . . doll pi-p-pic ‘ ‘Doll picnic. Yes. Good. Let it go, then. All of it. Let it out.' She cried for two minutes at least, maybe longer. I stood with the telephone pressed to my ear, sweating in the July heat, trying to be patient. I'm going to give you one chance to save your soul, Devore had told me, but this morning he was dead and his soul was wherever it was. He was dead, Mattie was free, I was writing. Life should have felt wonderful, but it didn't. At last she began to get her control back. ‘I'm sorry. I haven't cried like that really, really cried since Lance died.' ‘It's understandable and you're allowed.' ‘Come to lunch,' she said. ‘Come to lunch please, Mike. Ki's going to spend the afternoon with a friend she met at Vacation Bible School, and we can talk. I need to talk to someone . . . God, my head is spinning. Please say you'll come.' ‘I'd love to, but it's a bad idea. Especially with Ki gone.' I gave her an edited version of my conversation with Bill Dean. She listened carefully. I thought there might be an angry outburst when I finished, but I'd forgotten one simple fact: Mattie Stanchfield Devore had lived around here all her life. She knew how things worked. ‘I understand that things will heal quicker if I keep my eyes down, my mouth shut, and my knees together,' she said, ‘and I'll do my best to go along, but diplomacy only stretches so far. That old man was trying to take my daughter away, don't they realize that down at the goddam general store?' ‘I realize it.' ‘I know. That's why I wanted to talk to you.' ‘What if we had an early supper on the Castle Rock common? Same place as Friday? Say five-ish?' ‘I'd have to bring Ki ‘ ‘Fine,' I said. ‘Bring her. Tell her I know â€Å"Hansel and Gretel† by heart and am willing to share. Will you call John in Philly? Give him the details?' ‘Yes. I'll wait another hour or so. God, I'm so happy. I know that's wrong, but I'm so happy I could burst!' ‘That makes two of us.' There was a pause on the other end. I heard a long, watery intake of breath. ‘Mattie? All right?' ‘Yes, but how do you tell a three-year-old her grandfather died?' Tell her the old fuck slipped and fell headfirst into a Glad Bag, I thought, then pressed the back of my hand against my mouth to stifle a spate of lunatic cackles. ‘I don't know, but you'll have to do it as soon as she comes in.' ‘I will? Why?' ‘Because she's going to see you. She's going to see your face.' I lasted exactly two hours in the upstairs study, and then the heat drove me out the thermometer on the stoop read ninety-five degrees at ten o'clock. I guessed it might be five degrees warmer on the second floor. Hoping I wasn't making a mistake, I unplugged the IBM and carried it downstairs. I was working without a shirt, and as I crossed the living room, the back of the typewriter slipped in the sweat coating my midriff and I almost dropped the outdated sonofabitch on my toes. That made me think of my ankle, the one I'd hurt when I fell into the lake, and I set the typewriter aside to look at it. It was colorful, black and purple and reddish at the edges, but not terribly inflated. I guessed my immersion in the cool water had helped keep the swelling down. I put the typewriter on the deck table, rummaged out an extension cord, plugged in beneath Bunter's watchful eye, and sat down facing the hazy blue-gray surface of the lake. I waited for one of my old anxiety attacks to hit the clenched stomach, the throbbing eyes, and, worst of all, that sensation of invisible steel bands clamped around my chest, making it impossible to breathe. Nothing like that happened. The words flowed as easily down here as they had upstairs, and my naked upper body was loving the little breeze that puffed in off the lake every now and again. I forgot about Max Devore, Mattie Devore, Kyra Devore. I forgot about Jo Noonan and Sara Tidwell. I forgot about myself. For two hours I was back in Florida. John Shackleford's execution was nearing. Andy Drake was racing the clock. It was the telephone that brought me back, and for once I didn't resent interruption. If undisturbed, I might have gone on writing until I simply melted into a sweaty pile of goo on the deck. It was my brother. We talked about Mom in Siddy's opinion she was now short an entire roof instead of just a few shingles and her sister, Francine, who had broken her hip in June. Sid wanted to know how I was doing, and I told him I was doing all right, I'd had some problems getting going on a new book but now seemed to be back on track (in my family, the only permissible time to discuss trouble is when it's over). And how was the Sidster? Kickin, he said, which I assumed meant just fine Siddy has a twelve-year-old, and consequently his slang is always up-to-date. The new accounting business was starting to take hold, although he'd been scared for awhile (first I knew of it, of course). He could never thank me enough for the bridge loan I'd made him last November. I replied that it was the least I could do, which was the absolute truth, especially when I considered how much more time both in person and on the phone he spent with our mother than I did. ‘Well, I'll let you go,' Siddy told me after a few more pleasantries he never says goodbye or so long when he's on the phone, it's always well, I'll let you go, as if he's been holding you hostage. ‘You want to keep cool up there, Mike Weather Channel says it's going to be hotter than hell in New England all weekend.' ‘There's always the lake if things get too bad. Hey Sid?' ‘Hey what?' Like I'll let you go, Hey what went back to childhood. It was sort of comforting; it was also sort of spooky. ‘Our folks all came from Prout's Neck, right? I mean on Daddy's side.' Mom came from another world entirely one where the men wear Lacoste polo shirts, the women always wear full slips under their dresses, and everyone knows the second verse of ‘Dixie' by heart. She had met my dad in Portland while competing in a college cheerleading event. Materfamilias came from Memphis quality, darling, and didn't let you forget it. ‘I guess so,' he said. ‘Yeah. But don't go asking me a lot of family-tree questions, Mike I'm still not sure what the difference is between a nephew and a cousin, and I told Jo the same thing.' ‘Did you?' Everything inside me had gone very still . . . but I can't say I was surprised. Not by then. ‘Uh-huh, you bet.' ‘What did she want to know?' ‘Everything I knew. Which isn't much. I could have told her all about Ma's great-great-grandfather, the one who got killed by the Indians, but Jo didn't seem to care about any of Ma's folks.' ‘When would this have been?' ‘Does it matter?' ‘It might.' ‘Okay, let's see. I think it was around the time Patrick had his appendectomy. Yeah, I'm sure it was. February of '94. It might have been March, but I'm pretty sure it was February.' Six months from the Rite Aid parking lot. Jo moving into the shadow of her own death like a woman stepping beneath the shade of an awning. Not pregnant, though, not yet. Jo making day-trips to the TR. Jo asking questions, some of the sort that made people feel bad, according to Bill Dean . . . but she'd gone on asking just the same. Yeah. Because once she got onto something, Jo was like a terrier with a rag in its jaws. Had she been asking questions of the man in the brown sportcoat? Who was the man in the brown sportcoat? ‘Pat was in the hospital, sure. Dr. Alpert said he was doing fine, but when the phone rang I jumped for it I half-expected it to be him, Alpert, saying Pat had had a relapse or something.' ‘Where in God's name did you get this sense of impending doom, Sid?' ‘I dunno, buddy, but it's there. Anyway, it's not Alpert, it's Johanna. She wants to know if we had any ancestors three, maybe even four generations back who lived there where you are, or in one of the surrounding towns. I told her I didn't know, but you might. Know, I mean. She said she didn't want to ask you because it was a surprise. Was it a surprise?' ‘A big one,' I said. ‘Daddy was a lobsterman ‘ ‘Bite your tongue, he was an artist ‘a seacoast primitive.' Ma still calls him that.' Siddy wasn't quite laughing. ‘Shit, he sold lobster-pot coffee-tables and lawn-puffins to the tourists when he got too rheumatic to go out on the bay and haul traps.' ‘I know that, but Ma's got her marriage edited like a movie for television.' How true. Our own version of Blanche Du Bois. ‘Dad was a lobster-man in Prout's Neck. He ‘ Siddy interrupted, singing the first verse of ‘Papa Was a Rollin' Stone' in a horrible off key tenor. ‘Come on, this is serious. He had his first boat from his father, right?' ‘That's the story,' Sid agreed. ‘Jack Noonan's Lazy Betty, original owner Paul Noonan. Also of Prout's. Boat took a hell of a pasting in Hurricane Donna, back in 1960. I think it was Donna.' Two years after I was born. ‘And Daddy put it up for sale in '63.' ‘Yep. I don't know whatever became of it, but it was Grampy Paul's to begin with, all right. Do you remember all the lobster stew we ate when we were kids, Mikey?' ‘Seacoast meatloaf,' I said, hardly thinking about it. Like most kids raised on the coast of Maine, I can't imagine ordering lobster in a restaurant that's for flatlanders. I was thinking about Grampy Paul, who had been born in the 1890s. Paul Noonan begat Jack Noonan, Jack Noonan begat Mike and Sid Noonan, and that was really all I knew, except the Noonans had all grown up a long way from where I now stood sweating my brains out. They shit in the same pit. Devore had gotten it wrong, that was all when we Noonans weren't wearing polo shirts and being Memphis quality, we were Prout's Neckers. It was unlikely that Devore's great-grandfather and my own would have had anything to do with each other in any case; the old rip had been twice my age, and that meant the generations didn't match up. But if he had been totally wrong, what had Jo been on about? ‘Mike?' Sid asked. ‘Are you there?' ‘Yeah.' ‘Are you okay? You don't sound so great, I have to tell you.' ‘It's the heat,' I said. ‘Not to mention your sense of impending doom. Thanks for calling, Siddy.' ‘Thanks for being there, brother.' ‘Kickin,' I said. I went out to the kitchen to get a glass of cold water. As I was filling it, I heard the magnets on the fridge begin sliding around. I whirled, spilling some of the water on my bare feet and hardly noticing. I was as excited as a kid who thinks he may glimpse Santa Claus before he shoots back up the chimney. I was barely in time to see nine plastic letters drawn into the circle from all points of the compass. CARLADEAN, they spelled . . . but only for a second. Some presence, tremendous but unseen, shot past me. Not a hair on my head stirred, but there was still a strong sense of being buffeted, the way you're buffeted by the air of a passing express train if you're standing near the platform yellow-line when the train bolts through. I cried out in surprise and groped my glass of water back onto the counter, spilling it. I no longer felt in need of cold water, because the temperature in the kitchen of Sara Laughs had dropped off the table. I blew out my breath and saw vapor, as you do on a cold day in January. One puff, maybe two, and it was gone but it had been there, all right, and for perhaps five seconds the film of sweat on my body turned to what felt like a slime of ice. CARLADEAN exploded outward in all directions it was like watching an atom being smashed in a cartoon. Magnetized letters, fruits, and vegetables flew off the front of the refrigerator and scattered across the kitchen. For a moment the fury which fuelled that scattering was something I could almost taste, like gunpowder. And something gave way before it, going with a sighing, rueful whisper I had heard before: ‘Oh Mike. Oh Mike.' It was the voice I'd caught on the Memo-Scriber tape, and although I hadn't been sure then, I was now it was Jo's voice. But who was the other one? Why had it scattered the letters? Carla Dean. Not Bill's wife; that was Yvette. His mother? His grandmother? I walked slowly through the kitchen, collecting fridge-magnets like prizes in a scavenger hunt and sticking them back on the Kenmore by the handful. Nothing snatched them out of my hands; nothing froze the sweat on the back of my neck; Bunter's bell didn't ring. Still, I wasn't alone, and I knew it. CARLADEAN: Jo had wanted me to know. Something else hadn't. Something else had shot past me like the Wabash Cannonball, trying to scatter the letters before I could read them. Jo was here; a boy who wept in the night was here, too. And what else? What else was sharing my house with me?